Right after learning the principles of structure, it will be hard to apply them to your own work immediately. Better is to consolidate your understanding by applying it to films you know, by watching them and identifying the key turning points. A breakdown in scenes or plot points is an excellent start. To help you with this, I will regularly …

A structural overview of The Shawshank Redemption (Frank Darabont, 1994). It was nominated for seven Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Actor (Morgan Freeman), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Original Score, and Best Sound – but it failed to win a single Oscar. This film has an interesting structure because of its unusual treatment of the protagonist. The …

A structural overview of Terminator 2: Judgment Day (J. Cameron, 1991). Terminator 2 offers amazing entertainment, with groundbreaking visual effects and unexpected character layers. Just like he did five years earlier with Aliens, co-writer/director James Cameron delivered an exceptionally satisfying sequel. ACT ONE Sequence A: Two Terminators 00.00 Girl on swings, idyllic ‘silence before the storm’ 01.00 2029, war against …